Highland Fling
by Geek1
Summary: Sort of a follow on McQueen and Dylan:2
1. Default Chapter

Title: Highland Fling.  
  
Author: Geek  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
The characters and situations of the TV program "SPACE: Above and Beyond" are the creations of Glen Morgan and James Wong, Fox Broadcasting and Hard Eight Productions, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended. Dylan Mackenzie belongs to me.  
  
This just sort of came to me - so I wrote it down. It's sort of a follow up to McQueen's match.  
  
Once again - MANYTHANKS to Karen, she's the Bestest beta ever.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 1. Arriving.  
  
It had been raining hard ever since they'd arrived in Scotland. Getting there had been the easy part. They'd hitched a lift from Loxley with some RAF pilots heading home to their Scottish Air Force Base, and were dropped off en route at the rental place, where they'd picked up their car.  
  
It was the journey from there that had proved troublesome. To start with, they'd taken the wrong turning leaving Inverness and found themselves on the wrong side of Loch Ness with no option but to loop around the loch and head back up the other side, or to turn around and head back into Inverness and start again.  
  
They'd chosen to carry on. Lt Cooper Hawkes had sworn he'd told the Colonel to turn left at the lights, not carry straight on. McQueen had just glared at him and carried on in silence, peering into the pitch dark, and praying he didn't drive them into the loch.  
  
And then Cooper had started talking about the Loch Ness Monster, with such passion and fervour that McQueen had begun to wish that Cooper hadn't been invited too. The final straw was when Cooper made him pull the car over, so that he could get out and see if he could spy the monster in the loch.  
  
McQueen had found himself standing, in the dark driving rain, staring out over a black water, looking for something he thought was nonsense. By the time he'd eventually managed to convince Cooper that they weren't going to see anything in the dark, they were both soaked to the skin, and McQueen was well and truly peeved.  
  
They'd missed the turning out of Fort Augustus too, which added to McQueen's temper. He hadn't been prepared for such narrow twisty roads, or the near total darkness. They drove in silence the rest of the way. McQueen because he was angry with Cooper for missing the turnings, and Cooper because he didn't dare open his mouth in case McQueen shouted at him again.  
  
When they'd finally found the place, they were cold and miserable. But they were well prepared for the barrage of questions they'd had to answer before being allowed through the large solid gates, which were the only way in or out other than climbing the stone walls.  
  
Following the directions they were given, they parked in front of a modest sized log cabin, set back from the road amidst tall trees. A column of wood smoke curled up from the chimney through the pouring rain.  
  
They climbed out of the car, stretching their aching limbs, their eyes drawn to the movement in the lighted window facing them.  
  
It was as he stood there and watched her through the window, singing along to some music as she moved around the kitchen, whilst the rain ran through his short silver hair and down his neck, making him shiver, that McQueen knew every moment of the long journey had been worth it. It had taken two days of travelling to get here. Two days out of a 14-day liberty. But he didn't begrudge a single moment of it. 


	2. The Row

Chapter 2. The Row.  
  
The day had started out extremely well, but had gone downhill rapidly.  
  
She had woken up next to him, after a night of frenzied lovemaking. At first it had been shy and slightly awkward. But finally the desire and need, fuelled by lack of physical contact for almost a year, had been too great for them both, and it had developed into a frenzied flurry of licking, biting, kissing and stroking that had brought each to an early release. After that they took their time to rediscover the delights of each other's bodies before they collapsed exhausted, but satiated, into a comfortable sleep, wrapped in each others arms.  
  
She'd woken to feel his lean, muscular body next to hers and her arousal had been instant. She'd gently stroked his chest, running her hands down to his smooth flat stomach, unmarked by a bellybutton. This was something she found strangely erotic, and she had woken him with kisses and gentle licks to the scars on his chest.  
  
He'd smiled at her, a sleepy grin, but with desire blazing in his eyes. They had soon become lost in the rhythm of their renewed passion. It had been as they lay, McQueen on top of her, thrusting with all his might as she thrust upwards to meet him, that a tap had come at the door.  
  
It had been an automatic response on his part, she knew, to say come in, but she hadn't been prepared for what followed. She had found herself lying on her back, with him still hard inside her, while he carried on a conversation with Hawkes.  
  
She thought he probably hadn't even noticed when she'd pushed him off, grabbed her robe, and stalked out of the room to take a shower. They were still talking as she came back, collected her jeans and a baggy sweater, and left them to it.  
  
She'd headed straight into the small cosy kitchen, lighting the oven and putting some coffee on, before gathering together the flour and yeast she needed to make some bread. She'd felt the need to pummel something.  
  
He'd come up behind her as she kneaded the dough, shaping it ready for proving, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.  
  
"Don't we have some unfinished business?" he breathed huskily into her ear.  
  
Even through her jeans and the bathrobe he wore, she could feel his hardness. It had just made her angrier.  
  
"Are you completely stupid, or do you have to work at it?" she'd practically yelled into his face as she'd turned around, shaking his hands off her.  
  
He'd stepped back, stunned at the expression on her face. "What? What's the matter?"  
  
She'd looked at him, the anger she thought she'd beaten into the bread returning. *The dumb gawp has no idea why I'm upset*, she'd thought, but what she'd said was, "Go away. Don't touch me. don't speak to me. I really don't want to talk to you at the moment!"  
  
"What have I done?" he'd asked softly, aware that he had upset her, but not understanding how. He'd reached out a hand to touch her, but she'd shrugged him off.  
  
"Unless you want to feel this dough in your face, I'd move your butt out of my kitchen really, really fast." She'd held the dough in her hands to illustrate the point.  
  
Still confused by her sudden change of mood, he'd gone to take a shower.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	3. And So it Goes

Chapter 3. And so it goes..  
  
It had progressed from bad to worse after that. McQueen had tried to apologise for whatever misdemeanour he had committed, but Dylan was too angry and hurt to listen. She felt crushed by the fact that he didn't understand why she was so angry, so it wasn't long before they were talking to each other through Cooper.  
  
They sat in the living room drinking tea after a stonily silent lunch, during which Hawkes tried desperately to get some conversation flowing. It was a feat that defeated even his naturally cheerful temperament. The room was cosy, with pine walls and two comfortable squashy sofas. An assortment of wooden bookcases and hi-fi equipment hugged the walls, one of which was dominated by a huge open fireplace in which a log fire burned brightly, giving the room a sweet smell of pine sap.  
  
"Cooper, will you please tell the Colonel that he will be sleeping on the sofa tonight?" she said, deliberately avoiding McQueen's eye.  
  
"Uh, I don't know if I want to get involved in this." Cooper replied hesitantly.  
  
McQueen just glared at her, his eyes an icy blue, angry himself. Though he still didn't really understand why she was.  
  
"Lieutenant, please tell Dylan that I'll gladly do so. If she will tell me why." he said icily.  
  
"Cooper, tell the Colonel that if he doesn't know, then I'm not going to tell him." She smiled sweetly at Cooper. "Please."  
  
Cooper shrugged and turned to McQueen. " Sir, Dylan says if you don't know why, then she's not telling you"  
  
McQueen scowled. "Lieutenant, please ask Dylan how I'm supposed to know if she won't talk to me?"  
  
Cooper turned to Dylan, but she spoke before he could repeat McQueen's words.  
  
"Cooper, ask the Colonel how he got to be a Colonel if he can't work out the simplest of things." she said.  
  
McQueen had had enough. The silence all through lunch. and now this.  
  
"Lieutenant, please tell Dylan that I'm going for a run." And so saying, he headed from the room, leaving Cooper and Dylan sitting together on the sofas.  
  
Cooper turned to Dylan. "The Colonel says he's going for a run."  
  
Dylan shook her head. "Well, I just hope the fresh air will blow some common courtesy into his thick skull!"  
  
Cooper stood up and headed for the window. He stared out at the views across the mountainside, before turning and sitting on the windowsill, his face a picture of misery as he spoke.  
  
"I know it's none of my business, but just what has the Colonel done to you? I mean, he's my CO and all, but I've never seen him talk to you like that before. like he talks to us, the 5-8, when he's real angry with us."  
  
Dylan shifted herself, tucking her legs up under herself on the sofa. Much as she had come to like Cooper, she had recognised early on that the relationship he and McQueen had meant they came as a package, and that McQueen would always look out for him. But she wasn't sure that he would understand even half of what she needed to say.  
  
She gently shook her head. "Oh Coop, I know I'll never come first in his life." At Hawke's querying glance, she carried on. "I know the Corps is his life, followed by you guys, but I had hoped that maybe I'd come in third place." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "It's just that, there are sometimes a girl needs to feel that she is top of the list, y' know?"  
  
Cooper shook his head, confirming her suspicions; he had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
She sighed. "This morning Coop, when you knocked at the bedroom door, we were. well, we were busy."  
  
"You were doing the sex thing." Cooper acknowledged with a grin.  
  
She stared at him, slightly taken aback, before continuing. "Yes, we were, and he should have told you to come back later, Coop. He shouldn't have told you to come in, and he certainly shouldn't have had a conversation with you. He ignored me to talk to you."  
  
Seeing his pained expression, she carried on quickly. "I don't blame you, Coop, honest I don't. But Ty didn't consider my feelings, and that hurt me. At a moment like that, he should have been thinking about me; and the fact that he assumed he could talk to you, and then carry on where he'd left off, well. that just hurts Coop. For me to think he had so little regard for me. it hurts. It hurts real bad."  
  
Cooper didn't know what to say. He'd had few enough dealings with women. The only ones he really knew were Shane and Vanessa, and they still confused the hell out of him.  
  
"I don't know a lot about love and stuff, but I thought you loved the Colonel. I mean, you've sent him loads of stuff, and he's always smiling for days after the mail comes. I guess I thought that was what love did to you, it makes you smile lots. You smiled lots when we got here yesterday."  
  
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I do love him, Cooper. I know that. Hell, he knows it too. And I hope he loves me, but that's really not the point here."  
  
"Well, Shane and Vanessa are sure he does. They say he has a goofy look after mail calls and that's a sure sign. In fact, they think he's going to." He stopped himself from revealing what he had been sworn to secrecy not to tell.  
  
Dylan smiled to herself. She could guess what he had been going to say. She shook her head,  
  
"Coop, even if he did, I couldn't possibly say yes. Not after this morning. I just have to face the fact that he doesn't consider me important enough to worry about hurting my feelings. I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, after all, really, we hardly know each other. But it hurts Coop. It hurts to realise that he doesn't even know what he did wrong, and that's why I'm angry. Because he's too damn dense to realise why I'm upset."  
  
She stood up. "Well, I have things to do I'm afraid. Will you be okay looking out for yourself this afternoon? And when that damn fool CO of yours comes back, tell him......oh, I don't know, tell him whatever you like."  
  
She strode purposely out of the room, stopping in the doorway to say, "Dinner at 7?"  
  
Cooper nodded. He was as confused as he had ever been, and was tempted to go looking for McQueen to get him to explain what was going on, but he knew it would be pointless. McQueen would never talk about such personal stuff with him. All he'd get would be that icy blue glare warning him off. Instead, he folded his long frame into the sofa and went off to sleep in front of the fire.  
  
When he woke it was dark outside. Someone, Dylan, he presumed, had been in and turned on the lamps. He could hear raised voices coming down the hall from the kitchen, along with wafts of something that smelled delicious and he fervently hoped was dinner. Well, at least they're speaking to each other, he thought, even if they are shouting. As he strained to hear, he realised it wasn't his CO he could hear arguing with Dylan. It sounded like a woman. 


	4. And Goes some More

Chapter 4. And goes some more.  
  
Dylan stood at the low wooden kitchen counter, chopping the vegetables for dinner. She was so furious that she mangled them rather than chopped them. As she thought about why she was angry, she chopped faster and faster, narrowly missing her fingers.  
  
"So. What's upset you?" a voice from the doorway asked.  
  
Looking up, Dylan saw the tall, slim figure of her mother, still a natural blonde, though well into her fifties.  
  
"What makes you think I'm upset?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, come on. I've known you all your life, remember? You think I don't know when my little girl is upset?" Her mother came into the room, and pulling out a chair, settled her self at the kitchen table. "Come on, tell me all about it."  
  
"Mother, don't." Dylan warned.  
  
"Don't what? Don't worry about my only child? Don't care that she's upset? Don't want to try to help? Well, I'm sorry, Dill. I'm your mother, and those things come with the job. So tell me. What can I do to make it better?"  
  
"Don't call me Dill for a start. I'm not 5 anymore, and it's nothing you can help me with. It's personal." Dylan continued chopping her vegetables, hoping her mother would take the hint and leave.  
  
Her mother got up. "I think this needs tea, don't you?" She filled the kettle and put it on to boil, and continued talking as she rummaged in a cupboard for cups and a teapot.  
  
"It's him, isn't it? That tank of yours. I told you, Dill, no good would come of it, but would you listen? No, of course not. "He's not like my father, he's different". Well, he's hurt you, hasn't he? Just like they all do. He's a tank. He doesn't feel things the way you and I do. He just pretends to. He doesn't care for you, Dill. He doesn't know how. Just like your father didn't, or Billy's father, or Jenna's father, or Iona's father. Need I carry on?"  
  
Dylan stared at her mother, shocked.  
  
"How dare you say that! You don't even know him. you haven't even met him! How can you stand there and say such things?"  
  
Her mother sighed, leaning against the counter.  
  
"Because I've been there. I know what it's like. You think you're in love. He makes you feel special. like you're the only woman in the world. And he's great in bed. But then, when it's too late for you and you're head over heels, he gets bored, and you see him for what he really is. A tank, whose only real concern in life is himself."  
  
"It's not true! He loves me. I know he does!" Dylan yelled.  
  
"How, Dill? How do you know? Because he says so? Well, talk is cheap, and pillow talk is cheaper."  
  
"Mother! Why are you doing this. saying these hateful things? I thought you wanted to help?" Dylan was close to tears, hearing such horrible words from her mother.  
  
"I am trying to help, Dill. I had hoped this silly romance would fizzle out after a while, but you kept it going somehow and now you're paying the price." She turned and began to make the tea with the now boiled kettle.  
  
"But I want it to work. I want him. I need him. I'm glad he's here. I wanted you to meet him, to see he's not like my father. He's a good man, mother. He truly is. And I love him." Now the tears were flooding down her face.  
  
"Oh, Dill." Her mother came to her and held her close. "If I'd known you'd asked him to come, I would have forbidden it. Whatever were you thinking, Dill, inviting two tanks here?"  
  
"Mother! Forbidden it? I'm not a child anymore. I just wish you would realise that. Please don't try to interfere with my life; you've done that for far too long. And stop calling him a tank! I just can't believe I'm hearing this from you." Dylan shook her mother off. "And tea won't help, either."  
  
Her mother smiled. "There's nothing in this world a good cup of Earl Grey can't fix."  
  
Dylan just stared at her. "Are you hearing me at all mother? I don't want your rotten tea, and I don't want your advice. Whatever his faults, and I'm sure there are many, I love him. Just as he loves me, despite my shortcomings. I won't stand here and listen to anymore of this. this. this hateful, horrid attack on the man I love. Please leave, and don't come back until you have something nice to say about him!"  
  
Her mother simply stood and stared at her.  
  
"Well, my dear, you're making your own bed. I just hope you're prepared to lie in it. Don't say I didn't warn you! One more thing. Tyrus? Rather a presumptuous sort of name, don't you think? Ideas above his station, perhaps?"  
  
"Like Dylan, do you suppose?"  
  
Her mother shrugged. "It was your father's name." She turned to leave, and as she headed for the door, saw McQueen standing there.  
  
"Oh Dill, here's your tank. He looks a bit damp - better throw him a towel before he drips on the floor." And she disappeared into the rain, leaving Dylan and McQueen staring at each other. 


	5. Realisation

Chapter 5. Realization.  
  
She could barely look at him. He stood there in the doorway, t-shirt and sweatpants soaked, short silver hair curling in its dampness, his blue eyes staring straight at her. The sight brought a lump to her throat and a pain to her chest, making her realise just how much she loved him.  
  
Keeping her head down, she grabbed a towel from the back of a chair.  
  
"Here, you're wet. You shouldn't have stayed out in the rain. You'll catch a chill."  
  
She walked to him, holding out the towel. As he reached to take it, she stepped forward into his arms, resting her forehead on the damp cloth of his t-shirt, tears streaming down her pale face.  
  
"I'm sorry Ty. I've acted like an idiot today."  
  
He stood there, wet and cold, holding her as she leaned into his chest, crying.  
  
"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I know I hurt you." He gently stroked her back, revelling in the feel of her in his arms. "I'm so sorry."  
  
She sniffed, looking up into his face. "You are?"  
  
He nodded, smiling at her.  
  
"There's nothing like a nice long run in the rain to help you sort out your head. I should have told Coop I'd speak to him later. I'm sorry." He bent his head to kiss her, feeling her release a long breath. "I love you Dylan, and once I've had a hot shower and got some dry clothes, I'll show you how much."  
  
Dylan stepped back.  
  
"Well, you are rather wet." she said with a smile. "Don't take long - dinner will be ready as soon as I cook these veggies."  
  
Giving her one final hug, he headed off to take a hot shower, thinking about what he had overheard. Despite her obvious anger at him, she had defended him against her own mother. Knowing this gave him a warm glow inside. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	6. Resolution

6. Resolution.  
  
After a huge dinner of venison braised in red wine, baked potatoes and Dylan's mangled vegetables, they were far too full to think about anything more than just relaxing in front of the log fire, their feet stretched out towards the heat. Dylan snuggled up close to McQueen as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Cooper had made himself scarce, as requested quietly by McQueen shortly before dinner.  
  
"So, Elf, tell me. Who was that who got you so upset earlier?" he asked softly, even though he already knew. He felt her body tense as he said it.  
  
"It was my mother." She turned her head to face him, her eyes wide. "How much did you hear, Ty?"  
  
"Enough."  
  
"I'm sorry that you had to hear any of it. She's a mean spirited old troll, and if she wasn't my mother, I'd.... well, I'd.... oh! I don't know what I'd do....! But it wouldn't be nice!"  
  
He smiled at the sight of her small frame shaking with anger, anger in defence of him. He reached out to her, pulling her close again.  
  
"Well, I can't help my name, but I love yours.... Dill!"  
  
"No!" she squeaked. "Don't call me that, please. I hate it, I always have. It's so childish. But then, that's why she calls me it. She's my mother. She thinks she rules my life. She wants total control over everything I do."  
  
"Well, I never had a mother, so I can't speak from experience. But isn't that what mothers do?" he asked with a grin.  
  
"Not my mother. She's a total control freak. She hates to think I might actually have thoughts and opinions of my own. Do you know that when you and I first met, she'd simply told me I had to pack a bag because I was going on a trip?" She shook her head, remembering. "I'd never been away from here before, and she didn't even tell me where I was going. I'd never been so scared in all my life." She paused. "Well, except for the time I fell in the loch and Iona said she could see the monster coming to eat me!"  
  
He laughed. "And you believed her?"  
  
His laugh turned to a yelp as she hit him on the chest. "I was 8 years old. of course I believed her! You swine. I can't believe you think my terror was funny."  
  
He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her briefly on the lips.  
  
"You know, I gathered your mother was talking about me. I can't blame her for being protective, but it seemed rather more than that."  
  
Dylan sighed, and snuggling herself as close to him as she could, said, "She thinks you are going to hurt me. She called you a tank. She says in vitro's don't know how to love. That you don't feel things the way that natural borns do." She closed her eyes and whispered, "It's what my father did to her. She loved him, but he didn't know how to cope with it. He just up and left when she told him she was pregnant with me. She's never seen or heard from him since. I guess it's made her bitter. She thinks that's what you'll do to me."  
  
He held her tightly, hearing the distress in her voice.  
  
"And what do you think?" he asked softly.  
  
"I don't know." she whispered. "All I know for certain is that I love you. Even though I was angry with you, I couldn't just stand there and listen to her spouting off all the bigoted things she said, especially about you. If you don't love me, well, that's life. But I still love you, and she can't change that, as much as she may want to."  
  
She lifted her head from his chest and looked straight into his blue eyes.  
  
"You do love me though, don't you? I know that you do."  
  
At his gentle nod, and reassuring hug she continued.  
  
"She actually said that if she'd known I had invited you to come and stay, she would have forbidden it! Can you believe that?" Seeing the laughter in his eyes, she grimaced at him. "Well, I'm glad you think it's funny, but I'm 25 years old for goodness sake! Not 5!" She shook her head at him. "Honestly, I don't know why I love you, you gawp, but I do."  
  
He pulled her head down kissing her forehead.  
  
"I'm glad you love me, even if I am a gawp. whatever that is. Because I do love you, despite what your mother might think. I have no intention of hurting you. In fact, I'd like you to do something for me." She looked up at him curiously. "I'd like you to come and live at Loxley." At her surprised look he said, "It's a lot easier for me to get to than this place. We might actually get to see each other more than once a year."  
  
"But I can't just go and live there, Ty. I can't. She may be a mean spirited old bigot, but she's still my mother. This is my home."  
  
"Even though she bullies you, you still want to stay here?" he asked, puzzled.  
  
"Yes, even though she bullies me. But we're going to prove her wrong about you, aren't we?" she asked in a small voice.  
  
"Yes, we are." He sighed. "If you want to stay living here, then fine. But it'll always cut into any liberty I get. The travelling I mean." he added at her questioning glance.  
  
"Whatever I can do to keep my little elf happy, I'll do, because I love you. Don't you ever doubt it, and don't you listen when your mother tells you otherwise. I, Tyrus McQueen, love you, Dylan Mackenzie, and that's official."  
  
She sighed, and together they snuggled in front of the fire, watching the logs burn themselves down into ash before he stood, and taking her hand, led her to bed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fin 


End file.
